The present invention relates to a gel sealing device for sealing a passage of elongate parts through an opening. The gel sealing device provides a sealing section through which the elongate parts extends, wherein the gel sealing device comprises a gel sealing block having an upper flange and a lower flange with a support section disposed therebetween for supporting a gel ring sandwiched between the flanges in direction of extension of the elongate parts and which forms the sealing section.
Such a gel sealing device is e.g. known from WO 2005/027290 A1, which finds particular application in the field of telecommunications technology to which the present invention also preferably relates.
The known gel sealing device is accommodated in a lower housing body which is connectable to an upper housing body which forms a cable organizing area and is provided with a foldable gel ring comprising two semicircular gel ring segments which abut against each other in a radial inner area of the gel sealing device to form a common sealing section therebetween through which a plurality of cables extends. Conventionally, the plurality of cables comprises at least one cable from a provider site and at least one cable ranging to a customer site, e.g. a dwelling unit, wherein said provider cable and said customer cable are spliced within the organising area provided in an area of the upper housing body in which the splicing is sealed against environmental influences. The provider cable denoting a main cable may comprise one or more signal transmitting elements, such as an optical fibre element or a metal wire element, which is at last surrounded by an outer jacket protecting said element. The customer cable normally comprises an optical fibre element or a metal wire element to be spliced with the assigned element of the main cable in the organizing area of the upper housing body, wherein said optical fibre element or metal wire element is also protected by an outer jacket or a tube as e.g. used in blown fibre application.
Conventionally, the jacket or tube extends through the sealing section and is retained in the organizing area, wherein the optical fibre element or metal wire element guided by said jacket or tube is completely exposed in the organizing area by completely removing the respective part of the jacket in the organizing area or by providing the tube with its tube end in said organizing area, respectively. That is, the jacket or tube forms a jacket or tube end in the organizing area, wherein said jacket/tube end needs to be sealed by a gel sealing member covering and sealing the jacket/tube end in both axial directions thereof. In other words, each customer cable ending in the organizing area and provided to be spliced with the assigned element of the main cable, needs to be sealed with the gel sealing member at the jacket/tube end. Accordingly, the installation of the cables is time-consuming. Furthermore, as the customer cables normally extend through the sealing section in the form of bundles, care needs to be taken, at the time of handling one of said cables for e.g. a splice operation, for the cables of the bundles not to be handled in order to prevent damage to said cables.